


Operation L.O.S.T.

by CosmicCove



Category: Codename: Kids Next Door
Genre: Fighting, Gen, I have had MAJOR sector z feels ever since I first watched ZERO, Kidnapping, Light Angst, Sad with a Happy Ending, more like kidnapping mention, so like :pensive:, very light lol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-14
Updated: 2020-11-14
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:28:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27566032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CosmicCove/pseuds/CosmicCove
Summary: Nigel tells the rest of Sector V about the truth behind the disappearance of Sector Z after they get sent on a mission by Moonbase to retrieve files about the missing children.  With their new knowledge of what happened to them, the operatives decide to do something nice for the Delightful Children.
Relationships: Abigail Lincoln & Kuki Sanban, Abigail Lincoln & Nigel Uno, Hoagie Pennywhistle Gilligan Jr. & Abigail Lincoln, Hoagie Pennywhistle Gilligan Jr. & Kuki Sanban, I don't wanna tag all of them with eachother so those are the major Sector V friendshipssss, Sector V & Delightful Children From Down The Lane, Wallabee Beetles & Kuki Sanban
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17





	Operation L.O.S.T.

**Author's Note:**

> **Operation: L.O.S.T.  
>  -  
> Lost  
> Operatives  
> Still  
> Treasured**

The first few seconds before Sector V threw themselves into battle were the most suspenseful. There was something about the stillness before launching into the air gun ablazing, the silence before screaming at the top of their lungs, the way they and the enemy stared one another eye-to-eye before everything was anything but. Yes, there was something about it, though they couldn't agree what it was. Nigel thought it was the split-second battle planned formed in his head in those last few precious moments of peace, Hoagie thought it was the way the new weapon he'd made seemed to feel lighter in his hands at the last second, while Kuki thought it was the excitement of being on a mission bubbling up within her. Wally insisted that it was the anticipation, the way his fists itched to connect with the enemy. Abby just thought it was the tingle of nervous thrill that most anyone feels when adrenalin floods their system. 

Whatever it was, excitement, calculation, or adrenalin, the moment had already come and gone in half a second, and now each operative had thrown themselves into a frey with none other than the Delightful Children. Moonbase needed that strange suitcase the group of children was carrying, or rather, whatever its contents were. Kuki blasted out gumballs from her 2x4 gumball machine gun haphazardly, which thankfully didn't hit any of her teammates, but unfortunately also missed the enemies as well, besides one that had ricochet off of the sidewalk and grazed Bruce's arm. The five children began to bark out a mocking laugh at her for her poor shot, but they were cut off by Wally, who tackled both Bruce and Ashley to the ground, and was distributing punches to the two as he saw fit. The sudden break in their usual formation disoriented the hive minded children, who blinked at their two companions with blank expressions as they watched Wally whale on them. Then, as suddenly as they had gone despondent, something within the Delightful children clicked, and David, Constance, and Lenny cried out in shock as they processed what was happening to Ashley and Bruce. They rushed over to where Numbuh 4 was still punching his two catches, and struggled to pull him off of them. 

Finally prying Numbuh 4 off Ashley and Bruce, the five Delightful Children reunited, once again acting as if their bodies were one, perfect in unison. Wally stood back up from where they had shoved him off and prepared to go back in, but before he could, he was zapped by a strange laser that the Delightful Children had pulled on him. They aimed again as Numbuh 5 came in for a kick, and pulled the trigger. Once again, a laser burst from the gun, a stream of electric blue energy. As the shot connected with Abby, she found that it didn't hurt past a slight uncomfortable tingle, but it packed a punch in force. It blasted her into the sky, and she landed on the ground several meters from where she had been. 

"It's a knock back!" she shouted for her teammates. 

"Yeah," numbuh 4 agreed with her, "If that was supposed to hurt, it failed, you delightful dorks!" 

"They're intentionally pushing us away to keep us from that case!" Numbuh 1 yelled in reply. He turned to Hoagie, their tech expert. "Numbuh 2, can you identify that laser gun they're using?" 

Hoagie dodged a blast from the Delightful Children. "I've never seen one like that before. It's definitely teenager weaponry, though. Look at how it's built. Maybe I could-" Numbuh 2 lunged at the laser, his hand wrapping around the body of the gun at the same time the Children fired, sending him hurtling backwards, and the gun flying in the opposite direction. 

"Now look what you did!" The Delightful Children growled. 

While the delightfulized quintet was distracted by Numbuh 2, Numbuh 1 took the opportunity to grab the case from Lenny and attempt to pull it away from the group. "Hey-!" They protested, yanking it back. 

Nigel didn't budge, his hands still clutching the sides of the case. He ripped it back, but the Delightful Children seemed just as constituted, refusing to let go as he had. They went back and forth, back and forth, each side too determined to give up. 

"Enough," Nigel hissed, letting go with one hand to pull out his S.P.L.A.N.K.E.R. He still had a firm, resolute grip on the box. He also had the attention of the Delightful Children, who were now more focused on his weapon than they were the case. In their fear, their eyes dilated in perfect sync. "You're bluffing," The group accused him, though doubt was peaking in their voices. They tugged at the case, which wrenched it away from Nigel despite his best effort. Numbuh 1 held the S.P.L.A.N.K.E.R. even more steadily with a second hand around it, which made the Delightfuls question their decision. "You're still bluffing," the group repeated, clearly not believing their own words. 

"Take the shot, Numbuh 1!" Wally prompted. 

Nigel had no intent to fire, however. He curled a finger around the trigger of the S.P.L.A.N.K.E.R. to appear more convincing, but he didn't want to shoot unless he had to. "Okay, okay!" the Delightful Children cried, "We'll give you the case!" Nigel stood his ground for a moment, until Lenny extended the case towards him. Nigel lowered his weapon, and took hold of the case. For a moment, neither of them moved, just both holding on to the case, weighing their options carefully. Slowly, Lenny's fingers slid off the box. Nigel nodded respectfully. 

Sector V regrouped, preparing for the Delightfuls to change their minds and charge in for a second fight. Instead, the Delightful Children silently turned and walked away. 

"What's up with that?" Abby wondered. 

"And why didn't you shoot them when I asked you to?" Wally complained. 

"What's in the case?" Kuki asked. 

"I'm going to grab that laser," Hoagie informed them with an excited smile. He ran from the group towards where the laser had flown to. 

"Why they left, I'm not certain," Nigel answered, "But it probably has something to do with the contents. They're confused, or they just don't- _can't-_ care." 

Kuki jumped up and down and chanted "What's in the box? What's in the box? What's in the box?" 

Hoagie returned to the group turning the laser over in his hands, fascinated. He looked up from it to pay attention to Nigel, "Yeah numbuh one, what's in the box?" 

Nigel opened the suitcase for his team to see. Within it were dozens of pictures of the five children clad in Kids Next Door armor, and about twice as many documents about them. 

"Who the crud are these kids?" Wally asked, "I've never seen them around before." 

"Yeah, me neither," Hoagie agreed. 

"I've been around here the longest, and I've never met those kids," Abby noted, "Although they look suspiciously like… Well, that's impossible. I feel silly." 

"Sector Z," Nigel said softly. 

"Well, yeah I was gonna say that but-" 

"It's really them," Nigel clarified. 

"It can't be," Kuki breathed. 

"In fact, they look just like-" Wally began. 

"The Delightful Children from down the way," all five of them finished. 

Nigel nodded solemnly. 

"But how?" Hoagie asked. 

Nigel shook his head sadly as he closed the case. "They weren't always delightful," he informed the group, "They aren't Father's real children either. He took them. He changed them." 

Kuki whimpered, "That's so sad!" 

"Yeah," Abby agreed. She paused as she mulled it over. She perked up with another question, "Hey Numbuh 1? How do you know all this?" 

* * *

One explanation (and trip back to the treehouse) later, the various newly-informed members of Sector V were each seated deep in thought over their fallen comrades. Members getting injured in battle, even very severely, was not something new to the kids. However, members getting kidnapped and brainwashed was something else entirely. Kidnapped children were always returned to their parents when the Kids Next Door were on the case- but not these ones. How would they possibly be returned when the kids Sector Z used to be have disappeared? The Delightful Children from Down the Lane certainly weren't Sector Z, not anymore. They were hardly one person at all now. 

"We need to do something about it!" Kuki insisted for the umpteenth time. 

Wally sighed. "Numbuh one is delivering those files to the Moonbase right now. They are going to try to do something about it." 

"Not that there's much they can do," Hoagie muttered, "Even with Sector Z's delightfulization process documentation, not even the recommissioning device saved them. The effect is permanent." 

"Hoagie! We can't just give up hope!" Kuki reprimanded, "There has to be _something_ we can do!" 

"Yeah, Numbuh 3's right," Abby agreed, "Kids Next Door should never give up on their teammates. And they are our teammates, even if we didn't know it at first." Hoagie looked at the ground. "I'm just being realistic…" 

"I've got it!" Kuki cried out. 

The other three blinked at her in surprise. Hoagie piped up, "You… figured out how to recommission them?" 

"No!" Kuki replied, "A care package!" 

"What?" the other three wondered in unison. 

"We'll make them a care package!" Kuki repeated, "To show them we care!" 

"C'mon Kuki! There's no way the Delightful Children are gonna take your cruddy care package! They're just gonna make fun of it like they do everything else," Wally grumbled. 

Abby stood up. "Well I think it's a wonderful idea." 

Kuki and Wally turned to face her, equally shocked. "Really!" they both exclaimed at the same time. 

"Numbuh 5 you can't be serious!" Wally whined while Kuki cheered and ran up to Abby and hugged her. 

"Numbuh 5 is serious, alright!" Abby argued, "We don't have to tell them where or who it's from, they just have to know that someone out there cares." 

"Yeah Wally! Don't you care?" Kuki asked. 

Wally grimaced, and shifted in discomfort. "I mean, it's real sad. No kid should have to go through _that._ But these are the Delightful Children. They have been our enemy from the beginning. You can't expect me to just forgive them for everything they've put us through!" 

"It's not about forgiveness," Abby pointed out, "It's about letting them know that there's someone trying to help. You still want to help them, even if you can't forgive them, right?" 

Wally looked down at the floor. "Yeah. Yeah, I do." 

Hoagie joined in, "It's what Kids Next Door do. They help other kids, and they help their fellow operatives, no matter what!" 

"Does that mean you're in?" Kuki questioned. 

Hoagie smiled, "Of course!" 

Wally shuffled over to stand next to Abby and Kuki. "Me too, I guess," he admitted. 

"Yay!" Kuki yelled, wrapping her arms around him, "I knew you'd change your mind!" 

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," he huffed, his cheeks tinted red. 

"C'mon, follow me!" Kuki announced to the other three, before twirling around and skipping to her bedroom. The other three followed her as they were told. Inside of her room, Kuki grabbed a basket she had lying on her desk and plopped down on top of a pile of stuffed animals. Hoagie opted to sit on the chair next to her desk, while Abby chose a beanbag chair half-buried in rainbow monkeys, and Wally sat cross-legged on the floor with his arms crossed. 

"We have to give them very nice things!" Kuki commanded, "I'll go first! I'm going to include a pack of Band-Aids- in case they get hurt -And one of my super special give-to-a-friend rainbow monkeys!" As she listed them off, she tucked the Band-Aids and the rainbow monkey plush into the basket. Numbuh four began to protest that the Delightful Children probably wouldn't want a stuffed animal, but Abby elbowed him and glared. 

Kuki passed the basket to Hoagie. "Your turn!" 

"Oh. Uh," he mumbled. Usually he had things thought out a little bit more by now. "Oh, I know! Snacks! I'm sure Father never lets them have any candy." Hoagie got up and ran out of the room. A few minutes later, he returned with a couple bags of chips, a few candy bars, and a soda for each of the Children. He placed them in the basket with Kuki's gifts. Then, he passed the basket to Abby. 

"Numbuh 5's turn!" she declared. She looked down at the basket, and then to her teammates. "Do you think they have anything fun to read?" she asked. 

"You mean like books with pictures?" Hoagie asked. 

Abby clarified, "No, like, magazines and stuff." 

"And comics?" Wally added. 

Abby smiled and nodded, "Exactly!" 

"I'll get the comics if you get the magazines," Wally bargained. 

"You got a deal!" Abby agreed. 

Wally and Abby left the room and split up, going to their rooms to find old comics and magazines. Abby returned shortly after with some magazines she had finished reading, yet were still fairly recent. Wally took longer to return, having had trouble finding comics he could bear to part with. The pages of his comics were crinkled, but they were still legible. He and Abby added the comics and magazines to the basket. When he thought no one was watching, he also slipped in an old action figure of his, and some Yipper cards he had doubles of. 

"Great job everyone!" Kuki cheered, "This is an amazing care package! I'm sure they'll love it!" 

Just then, there was a call from the main room. "I'm back, guys." 

"Numbuh 1's back!" Wally called! 

The four kids ran into the main room to see him, Kuki gripping the basket in her hands. "How was the trip to Moonbase, numbuh 1?" Abby asked. 

"It went well," Nigel replied, "They're doing extensive research now. We're not sure there's much we can do, but for what it's worth, we are trying." He tilted his head over, noticing the basket in Kuki's hands. "What's that?" 

"It's a care package for Sector Z!" she replied. 

"We all pitched in," Wally added. 

"You're… Giving it to the Delightful Children from Down the Lane?" Nigel wondered. 

Kuki chimed, "Well, yeah!" Hoagie, Wally, and Abby nodded in agreement. 

"We're sending it anonymously," Abby added. 

Wally echoed, "Yeah, ano-nom-o-lously." Abby face-palmed and Hoagie snickered at his mispronunciation. 

"It's so they know that someone's watching out for them," Kuki explained, "Do you want to add something?" 

Nigel scanned the basket. "What could I add that hasn't been added already?" He thought for a moment. "We should add a note from all of us," he decided, "So they won't be confused." 

"Good idea!" Hoagie agreed. 

Nigel found some paper and a pencil. "Dear Delightful Children," he began. He looked at his teammates for something to write. 

"I realized today that we're all kids no matter how we act," Hoagie suggested. 

Abby continued, "And I realized that maybe you're in a bad situation." 

"No kid should feel like they have to grow up so fast," Wally chipped in. 

"So I made you this care package!" Kuki hummed, "There's someone out there who cares!" 

Nigel finished their note with, "And I hope someday that you find yourself in a better situation." 

Sector V exchanged looks with each other, satisfied smiles on their faces. "It's perfect!" Kuki cheered. 

"Now what?" Numbuh 4 asked. 

"Now, we deliver it," Nigel answered. 

Wally raised an eyebrow. "How? We just leave it on their doorstep, ring the bell, and run?" 

"No," Nigel replied, "We're going to put it in their room. We don't want Father to find it first." 

"We can do it," Kuki encouraged the team, "We're Kids Next Door operatives, after all." 

"Yeah!" Hoagie cried. 

"Kids Next Door, let's go deliver that care package!" Nigel announced, holding up a finger. 

* * *

The team was positioned outside of the delightful mansion. "Remember the game plan?" Nigel asked his team. The rest of the team answered with a single, silent nod. Nigel nodded back, "Okay team." 

Instantly, they broke from their hiding place, stealthily avoiding being caught by the mansion's extensive security system. Reaching an open window, Numbuh 4 helped boost the other through. Once alone, he leaped up and grabbed the window sill, and pulled himself through with Hoagie's help. 

Now inside, they just had to get to the Delightful Children's room. They snuck around corners, with Nigel checking to see if the coast was clear first. Finally, they found a room that seemed to resemble a child's room, albeit a very drab and boring one. The walls were a baby blue shade with gray trimming, and there was one, round light in the middle of the ceiling. There were two windows on either side of a very large bed. 

"I guess they can't even part when they sleep," Abby sighed. The idea of five children sharing a hivemind only seemed to grow more morbid in her mind as she pondered the fate of sector Z. 

Kuki placed the basket, which was now adorned with a bow, on top of the bed, right in the middle. She hummed as she centered it, and made sure that it looked positively perfect. "Mhm!" she finally chimed, rejoining the rest of sector V. 

Nigel signaled them to leave, and they slipped out the way they came. Sector V left just in time, too, because as soon as they were out of the Delightful Mansion, The Delightful Children entered their room. 

"What's this?" They mused. They approached it, sitting on their bed and pulling it towards themselves. "There's a letter," they noted, pulling it off and reading it. "No one signed it?" 

"Let's look inside," Constance suggested, and her siblings voiced it in unison. 

Ashley pulled out the rainbow monkey first. "What's the use of this?" they wondered, "Do you hug it? Is it a toy? I mean, I know that we know it's a rainbow monkey, but I never wondered what I'd do with it if I had one. Do you have to name them?" 

Ashley put the rainbow monkey down next to the basket and reached in again. "Band-Aids?" They blinked at it. "That's… actually useful." 

They opened up one of the bedside table's drawers, and popped the Band-Aid package into it. They turned back to the basket. This time, Lenny reached inside, and felt paper. "Is it a book?" they wondered out loud. They looked down at the stack of comics and magazines they had pulled out. 

"Oh no, Father does not allow us to have such things," they cried in shock. They exchanged a look with each other. Quietly, the Delightful Children added, "But I've always wanted one…" They decided to hide them behind the bookshelf they had in their room. They would read them whenever Father left on a solo mission again. It didn't matter if Jenkins caught them reading them; he was no snitch. 

"What other treats are there for us?" they asked each other, returning to the basket. "Oh! Sweets and soda!" they gasped, glancing down into the basket, "How do we hide those?" They ended shoving the candy bars to the back of the drawer that they put the Band-Aids in, and tucking the soda and chips ("We've never seen chips come in such small bags!") under their bed. 

"Is that all?" they wondered, "No, there's still some things left in here." Yipper cards? An action figure? Well, they never really wanted these objects, but they'd seen other kids with these before. They put them on the bed next to the rainbow monkey. The words of the letter echoed in their mind, _No kid should feel like they have to grow up so fast,_ and for the first time in their delightfulized lifetimes, the Delightful Children from Down the Lane, just for a few seconds, wanted to play with toys like the other children did. They blinked and the feeling was gone, replaced with a numb unfeeling they were all too familiar with. 

"Father does not allow such childish toys," They reminded themselves, "I suppose these must be hidden as well." 

The rainbow monkey and action figure went under the bed with the soda and chips. The Yipper cards were shoved deep into the drawer with the candy bars. 

"Now this basket. Father will surely wonder where it came from if he sees it, and we will have to tell the truth. We have to hide it too." They glanced around the room, but found that none of their previous hiding places would be able to hide it well. They began to panic. They left their room with the basket and ran down the hall to find a place to hide it. Rounding the corner, they nearly smacked straight into Jenkins. 

He blinked at them in shock. "What are you young ones doing running in the halls? That's not very delightful of you." 

They didn't know why; there was something about that basket, it's contents, and wherever it came from, that made them feel a little rebellious. "Jenkins," they pleaded, "Take this basket. Pretend it's yours. Please don't tell Father that we gave it to you." 

He gaped at the Children. "Okay," he hesitantly agreed, "Are you children well? It's everything okay?" 

"It is now," they sighed in relief. 

"Well, thanks for the basket, I suppose," Jenkins hummed. 

"You're welcome," the Delightful Children replied with sweet smiles, as was polite and proper to do. 

The Delightfuls returned to their room. They pondered between themselves, "I do wonder where it came from, though. Who is the mysterious stranger who sent it? And are they a kid or an adult? Surely, it couldn't be from a teen." 

The mysterious stranger- or strangers, rather, were back at the Kids Next Door sector V treehouse. They were celebrating the fact that a few Moonbase scientists had just sent news that they may have discovered a way to undelightfulize and recommission sector Z, and they were sending the research to the Deep Sea Lab to undergo more extensive research and prototyping. With any luck, sector Z may be returning by the end of the year.


End file.
